[This is admittedly a safe subject matter. He can accept this, even if you'd think the time he totally beat the crap out of his now-boyfriend thing would not exactly be a cause for celebration.
But it is, here. Because Leon had simply been doing his duty, and he'd accomplished it well. He knows this much. He has always taken his duty seriously, has always done his best to be the sort of person who deserves the title he's earned for himself.
To be the sort of person that Hugo can't knock down, verbally or physically, and every day he thinks he gets a step closer to that ideal. So Stahn's admiration... well, it feels well-earned, if nothing else. He feels like he's earned this one, and so he can accept it, bowing his head in what's almost a gracious thanks.
Not that Leon's ever properly gracious, but there's a strong attempt there for it.]
Yes, well...
[It's a little embarrassing, but also feels well-deserved, which makes it really hard to respond to. Stahn is, as ever, too much for Leon.]
... It is what I trained for. For my own reasons, that is what I have strived to achieve.
[Aka... it wasn't all Hugo, even if Hugo was the one who first put a sword in his hands. He wants to confirm for Stahn that...his skills, his position--he earned them all for his own reasons, not for Hugo's. If Stahn's going to admire something like that about him, he thinks he deserves to know that.]
no subject
But it is, here. Because Leon had simply been doing his duty, and he'd accomplished it well. He knows this much. He has always taken his duty seriously, has always done his best to be the sort of person who deserves the title he's earned for himself.
To be the sort of person that Hugo can't knock down, verbally or physically, and every day he thinks he gets a step closer to that ideal. So Stahn's admiration... well, it feels well-earned, if nothing else. He feels like he's earned this one, and so he can accept it, bowing his head in what's almost a gracious thanks.
Not that Leon's ever properly gracious, but there's a strong attempt there for it.]
Yes, well...
[It's a little embarrassing, but also feels well-deserved, which makes it really hard to respond to. Stahn is, as ever, too much for Leon.]
... It is what I trained for. For my own reasons, that is what I have strived to achieve.
[Aka... it wasn't all Hugo, even if Hugo was the one who first put a sword in his hands. He wants to confirm for Stahn that...his skills, his position--he earned them all for his own reasons, not for Hugo's. If Stahn's going to admire something like that about him, he thinks he deserves to know that.]